Will you be taking a vacation this summer? For health’s sake, I hope so.
Did you know that a number of research studies have shown correlations between vacation and physical and mental health? Pertaining specifically to women, studies have shown:
- Women who take fewer than one vacation every six years are 50% more likely to suffer a heart attack than women who take two vacations a year (Framingham Heart Study).
- Women who vacation only once every other year have significantly higher stress and depression than women who take at least two vacations a year (published in the Wisconsin Medical Journal, 2005).
Do we need fancy research studies to tell us this? Probably not, but in our evidence-based culture, it can’t hurt. Personally, I think the evidence is self-evident; if I don’t take a vacation at least twice a year, for example, I feel more stressed and depressed (although I have not yet suffered a heart attack, thank goodness). What is your own anecdotal evidence on this subject?
Now, wouldn’t it be nice if this could become a part of our national health dialog? Imagine American corporate leaders extolling the benefits of four weeks vacation for all employees (since vacation and health experts say that an ideal vacation is at least two weeks long, and we should take two per year). After all, both depression and heart disease are leading contributors to employee absenteeism. What if our policymakers began vocalizing the potential correlation between vacation time and lower health care costs? Wow!
Can we begin this process by spreading the word about the health benefits of vacation? Can we model these health benefits by taking our own vacations (that is, if we’re lucky enough to have jobs that allow us vacation time)?
